Project information
EU Campaign race in V4 - political communication in social media before the 2024 EP elections

Situated within the realm of digital political communication research, the project is connected to an international network of scholars collaborating through the DigiWorld initiative (https://digidemo.ifkw.lmu.de/digiworld/), ensuring a comparative perspective in our examination of political campaigns. To effectively address the dearth of comparative research on V4 campaigning, it proposes a comprehensive examination of social media posts by political parties in each included country, utilizing a unified research tool (codebook) to ensure the true parallelism of our study. The primary objective is to address fundamental questions: How do political entities leverage social media for campaigns in V4? What commonalities and distinctions exist across the V4 region? A critical factor that adds urgency to the project is the evident deployment of social media for anti-democratic campaigning. Illiberal political actors are notably pervasive in the Visegrad countries, underscoring the necessity to investigate how social media functions as a tool to amplify illiberal tendencies. With a sharp focus on practical applications, the project extends beyond the academic sphere. It aspires to make a meaningful impact on the citizens of the V4 countries by enhancing media and information literacy fostering resistance against biased reporting, disinformation, and propaganda. In addition to scholarly outputs, it involves sharing expert knowledge through conferences, workshops, classes with students, and possible media interactions. This approach aims to empower citizens with a deeper understanding of the factors shaping political communication, contributing to a more informed and resilient society in the V4 region.